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FM HONG KONG 07080CZ OCT 83
TO IMMEDIATE F C O
TELEGRAM NUMBER 1492 OF 7 OCTOBER
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON,-PEKING INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES WASHING NEW YORK, BRUSSELS AND GENEVA.
FUTURE OF HONG KONG : PRESS COVERAGE
Am
а
1. PRESS ATTENTION TODAY HAS FOCUSSED ON THREE FURTHER STATEMENTS
OF CHINESE POLICY ON THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG: THE PEOPLE'S DAILY
COMMENTATOR ARTICLE OF 6 OCTOBER (PEKING TELNO 991), REMARKS BY
FOREIGN MINISTER WU XUEQIAN «* OTTAWA, AND A CHINA NEWS SERVICE
REPETITION OF POINTS MADE BY H! YAOBANG IN HIS MEETING WITH JAPANESE JOURNALISTS ON 15 AUGUST (MY TELNO 1203).
2. THE INDEPENDENT PRESS GAVE PROMINENT BUT STRAIGHTFORWARD FACTUAL COVERAGE TO ALL THREE SOTRIES, BUT HAVE YET TO COMMENT.
THEIR COVERAGE OF WU XUEQIAN'S REMARKS PUT THE MAIN EMPHASIS ON
HIS ASSERTION THAT NO MATTER WHETHER THERE WAS PROGRESS IN THE
SINO/BRITISH TALKS, CHINA WOULD ANNOUNCE IN SEPTEMBER 1984
ITS DECISION TO REGAIN SOVEREIGNTY OVER HONG KONG IN 1997''.
3. THE TWO MAIN COMMUNIST NEWSPAPERS, TA KUNG PAO AND WEN WEY PO, BOTH REPRINTED WITHOUT COMMENT THE FULL TEXT OF THE PEOPLE'S
DAILY COMMENTARY ON 6 OCTOBER. NEITHER REPORTED THE CHINA NEWS
SERVICES DESPATCH OR WU XUEQIAN'S REMARKS. THE PRO-CHINA TIN TIN
DAILY NEWS COMMENTED THAT THE ESCALATION OF CRITICISM OUTSIDE
THE TALKS HAD BEEN GENERATED BY MR. LUCE'S PROVOCATIVE REMARKS.
SOME PEOPLE HAN HONG KONG WOULD FEAR THE SEVERITY OF PEKING 'S
RESPONSE. THE PAPER THEREFORE CALLED ON CHINESE LEADERS TO ISSUE
MORE COMFORTING STATEMENTS AND SUGGESTED THAT PEKING ESTABLISH
AN ORGANISATION EN HONG KONG TO GATHER THE VIEWS OF LOCAL RESIDENTS.
AND
4. AN EDITORIAL MIN YESTERDAY'S NEW EVENING POST (COMMUNIST)
DESCRIBED THE GOVERNOR'S LEGCO ADDRESS AS AN TUNORIGINAL'
**BORING" COLLECTION OF ANNUAL REPORTS FROM GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.
HONG KONG'S FUTURE SHOULD NOT BE THE GOVERNMENT'S OVERRIDING RESPONSIBILITY, RATHER GOVERNMENT SHOULD SERVE THE PEOPLE, MAINTAIN STABILITY AND PROTECT THE LIVELIHOOD OF THE PEOPLE. HADDON CAVE
FUTURE OF HONG KONG
LIMITED
HD/HKD
COPIES TO
SIR IAN SINCLAIR
MR BURROWS
HD/FED
MR ROBERTS
HD/PLANNING STAFF
MR MARTIN
HD/PUSD
PS
MR FLOWER
MR COLES
PS/LADY YOUNG
PS/MR LUCE
PS/PUS
SIR J BULLARD
MR GIFFARD
MR DONALD
MR WRIGHT
LEGAL ADVISER
LEGAL ADVISER
NEWS D
ASSESSMENTS STAFF
CABINET OFFICE
PUSD
NO 10 DOWNING STREET
SIR A PARSONS
MR WALKER RESEARCH D
NO 10 DOWNING STREET
OAB 2/82
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON
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